#2 - If the rails are not tightened
and if they accidentally slide,
there is a back-up to catch the
rails before they completely slide
out.

#3 - Press this to completely
release the rail from the bracket.

Lower bracket has center point
conveniently marked out to aid in
nodal calibration.

Vertical arm and lower rail.

The rails have guides (1) that allow
components to easily line up.
The vertical arm has a groove (2)

Upper rotator detail

Clear degree demarcations.

0° - 180° both sides.

Upper rotator detail

The upper rotator rotates very
smooth. This is due to a
banded bearing (1) and cardboard
type washer (2) between the vertical arm
and rotator assembly.

Upper rail detail

The rails have guides (1) that allow
components to easily line up.
The upper bracket has grooves
underneath that matches the rails'
tracks. (2) No need to square
components together.

Plate detail

The hole where you insert the screws
are threaded. Prevents screws
from accidentally falling out.

Bracket detail

The mounting brackets have marked
out points to aid in nodal
calibration and remembering set-up
points for various cameras.

Mounting the camera

When mounting the camera to the rail
(1), it may be wise to leave space
for the battery door (2) to
open.

Leveling the camera

Make sure the VR head (1) is
properly leveled. Have a
leveling device, like the Manfrotto
337 double-bubble level (2), mounted
on the hot shoe. Loosen the
screw (3) securing the camera, and
adjust as required. Slide the
camera rail back down and adjust for
the entrance pupil.

Nadir shot?

Unfortunately the 303SPH is not
designed for a clear shot of the nadir.

The screw(1) that is securing the
camera rail is not designed for
quick adjustments. Even if you
were to replace the screw with a
winged-screw or "thumb-screw" it
still wouldn't work as it will not
fit with the bracket.

Also you have to move the
upper rail by the upper bracket assembly. Even then it's
not enough in my personal opinion.
You would have to adjust both rails
on the upper arm to its maximum
expansion to have enough image to
work with in Photoshop. Too much
adjustments are required just to
shoot the nadir. Then,
not to forget, you would lose the
nodal calibration.

The lower image shows what is
required for a nadir shot that will
give you enough image to work with.

Notice the angle of the tripod and
VR head. This is better
illustrated with the
NN3 review.

The tripod legs are spread wider
than normal and tipped forward.
Again, you wouldn't do this if you were
shooting multiple locations.
As you will have to spend time
readjusting back to the entrance
pupil.

NOTE on images below:
The lens is not set at the correct entrance pupil. The
images are to simply illustrate the length achievable on the
upper arm of the 303SPH.

With zoom lens. 70-300mm at
maximum.

Landscape position.

High resolution panoramic shooting

As shown above, the 303SPH can
definitely shoot high resolution
panoramic images. The longer
rails that comes with the VR head is
probably suitable for most telephoto
or zoom lenses. Of course
excluding the big-guns like the
super-telephotos.

Full
360°x180° Spherical Panorama Shoot Test

6 pan, 1 zenith, 2 nadirs (merged
in Photoshop)

First initial stitch.

For demonstration purposes two sets
of panoramas were shot.

The second set with the camera
angled approximately 12° pointing
down.

As you can see Manfrotto pays a
lot of attention to detail and equipment safety. If you've
been around Photography most likely you've heard of them.
They're a huge manufacturer of professional photographic and video
equipment. Despite their engineering talent and long history
I'm not 100% satisfied with the 303SPH.

First the good stuff.

The precision of the 303SPH is
incredible. Every detail they put into making sure the
equipment is both safe and precise is by far top notch. The
guide on the rails lining up with the brackets and vertical arm are
excellent. The 300N panoramic head's ease of use and
flexibility is unmatched. Personally I prefer the ease of use
of the 300N over detent plates/rings/disc. You can use the
300N for object panoramas. The dual safety-catch on the
brackets with quick release, to protect your valuable camera, are ingeniously designed. The
upper rotator assembly is well thought of with the ball-bearing
washer. Super smooth rotations. Ease of rail
adjustments. Rails' corners have been shaved to an angle and
edges rounded off to
avoid personal injury. Strong material used that can accommodate the
heaviest of camera bodies. Long rails that can accommodate
long zooms and mid-size telephoto lenses. When I first
stitched my first panorama it was parallax free. It was simple
to adjust for the entrance pupil on the 303SPH. I simply used a
carpenter's square and Manfrotto's 337 double-bubble to initially
adjust the nodal point. Then I pointed the camera down, as if
I'm shooting the nadir, and adjusted the camera's center focusing
point on the pivotal screw of the VR head. Simple and
effective entrance pupil adjustment. I find this technique easier than
"looking at two objects at a distance" technique. The list
goes on and on with its great qualities.

But...

Disappointment... I
personally prefer to be able to shoot the nadir without the tripod
in view. That is after all a true FULL 360°x180° SPHERICAL
PANORAMA shot. Anything less is not a true full 360°.
A nadir that is covered by a "mirror-ball" cap is not my cup-of-tea.
That's just my personal preference. Just like I love my coffee
black. I personally prefer to keep a location's true details.
Even the ground. Have you ever shot a 360 of a location where
there is important detail on the ground that makes a location
significant or unique to any other place? Keeping as much
detail of a location is my ultimate goal when I shoot a 360°
panorama.

Weight, size and cost should all
be considered when purchasing this VR head. It's heavier than
most. It's huge, bulky and awkward to pack. It's not something
that you would take as a hand carry on a flight or go backpacking
with.

Cost? It's approximately
$600 US. For it's build quality it's probably worth it.
But I would personally feel cheated after spending that kind of
money knowing I can't get a clear shot of the ground (with all that
engineering) unless I modify it to
Eric Rougier's 304 but that's now doubling your cost.
Talking about cost how much more is it to add a bubble level?
Did the engineers forget this detail? Or is this a way to lure
you to buying the 338 leveling plate or 337 double-bubble? Not a
real big deal but would've been nice to have a built in level at
this price.

No case supplied. For some
reason I wasn't surprise. Something this big no manufacturer
is going to supply you with one. It's extra cost on their end.

If you're planning on purchasing
one of these and want it right away, depending where you are, it may
be wise to order early if the store does not have it in stock.
It took four months for mine to arrive.

Customer service? I can't
comment on that. I haven't had to deal with Manfrotto.
But I'm sure they have good customer service. They've been
around for quite awhile. I think since the 60s.

I would give the 303SPH a score
of 8 out of 10. It's a precise piece of equipment with lots
of obvious engineering. If this had the capability to shoot
the nadir without the tripod in view then I would probably have
given this a higher score. Weight, size and cost is another
issue. This is a definite workout if you're planning on
walking around a city shooting panos all day long.